Spanish/Lesson 4

Stem Changing Verbs
In Spanish, some verbs change their stems when they are conjugated. These verbs are known as stem-changing verbs. Many of these verbs are important and often used. There are three different types of stem changing verbs in Spanish:

The stem changes for all conjugations, excepting nosotros/as and vosotros/as. The endings are the same as for regular verbs (-o for yo, -as/-es for tú, ...).

Entender To Understand

Note that the stem change is done for the second 'e' (not the first one) - in general the stem always changes for the last vowel before the -ar/-er/-ir ending.

Example: pedir (e->i) to ask for, to order

Pedir To Ask For, Order

Note: all e->i stem changing verbs are -ir verbs.

Dormir To Sleep

Here is a list of some other common stem changing verbs:

Exercise: Stem Changing Verbs

Present Participle
The present participle in Spanish is used either for continuous tenses (with estar, e.g. I am running.) and can also be used as an adjective. The Spanish present participle corresponds to the English -ing form of the verb.To form the present participle for regular -ar verbs, add -ando to the stem. For -er and -ir verbs add -iendo:

However, not all present participles are that regular. Some verbs add a "y," or change the spelling, to adhere to Spanish orthography (spelling) rules. Here is a list of some common verbs that have an irregular present participle:

Present Progressive
Like in English, the Spanish present progressive is used to describe an action in progress. It is formed by conjugating the verb estar and then adding the present participle: